Saturday 26 March 2016

Bass Lake Side Road to Line 15

I spent an hour with Tom clearing away some broken branches. I'll show you some of those impressions another time - although to date nobody has ever asked "What ever happened to ___________ promised entries?" So maybe they won't be shown either.

Still I enjoyed the great lighting on, through, behind ice on nature:






Had to look up sumachs to be sure:







Wonderful Good Friday.

W O B

Good Friday

I spent yesterday afternoon travelling around the country side viewing nature. The following was the most stunning - to me - impression of the trip although as you might see later, in another entry, there were many wows to see and enjoy.



W O B

Monday 21 March 2016

Bochum, Bonn, and the Burton Tower

I left UofT and the Burton Tower in 1967. I left Bochum (RUB) in 1975 and Bonn in 2010.
On Wednesday - the same one as in the previous 2 blogs - Norbert in Bonn told me that Reinhard of Bochum (RUB) and previously of Bonn (MIfR) where we became friends and played soccer for the MPIfR as well, would be in Toronto at CITA to give a talk on MHD turbulence in GMC under the influence of cosmic rays. Seemed like a natural to go visit him since it was March Break aka Reading Week and there might not be so many students there as normal.

I took some impressions for old time sake, from the north clockwise to the right to the east:


The small dome at the right edge is the McLaughlin Planetarium




University College is at theleft/north end of the common and Convocation Hall is at the right end - in the lower picture. I can hardly recognize the university for so many new buildings.

W O B

The Rain in Spain aka Orillia - last Wednesday afternoon

Orillia, Oro Medonte - there is a Spanish connection from the 19th century although no one is certain about how and when the name was given - certainly the Anishinaabeg  do not appear to have been asked. Still as I looked out the window around 5pm many thoughts dashed, danced and pranced between my ears I saw some details that might have escaped me on another occasion:







The double tree from another perspective - we need to step back and look anew in Spring:



W O B

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Flash technique applied

Last Wednesday, the Orillia Camera Club had Andre Beneteau  as guest speaker. An excellent
speaker and demonstrator of the indirect flash. Unfortunately(?) I have not purchased a flash for my camera and only use the built in one to the disadvantage of my friends and myself.

However, 2 days ago, while admiring some tulips given to Vicki by a friend of ours, I got an idea to try.
Here is the first shot without flash:

ISO 3200, F/8 1/8 sec

And here is one with flash but not direct - I inserted an envelope at a 45 degree incline to direct the flash to the ceiling:

As above except 1/180 sec.
The flower is oriented to face the horizon so ceiling scattered light enters from the top of the frame. In both cases, natural light is entering the tulip face on from behind me and the camera.


W O B

Monday 14 March 2016

How much wood can a woodpecker chuck if a woodpecker could chuck wood?

On Friday I mentioned looking and finding wood chips. I went back on Sunday to Tudhope and found the real "chippy":



Detail:

The other side of the tree is also interesting:
This side is facing south.

Moving away:



And further:


The wood chips are at the base, left side, and Couch is in the background looking north.

Loch Ness Monster and other Haunters of Couchiching - from Fri Mar 11

I noticed while preparing the impressions from this past Friday, a recurrence of a theme from the Friday before: marine creatures in my fantacy:

Loch Ness Monster:




And its jaws!

about to devour winter?

And there on the marge of the lake I saw another strange sight -

getting ready to take the plunge?



Release the prisoner:


Strange the effect this had on me. There is a very faint trace of colour and I wondered why? Why this leaf - still in good shape after 5-6 months of wind, rain, sleet and snow. And I thought about a visit I made to a forest, thee Forest, more than 40 years ago:

As the sun slowly set in the West, on another "winter"  ... and a new year about to begin.

W O B

Sunday 13 March 2016

It is summer time! (And the livin' is easy!)

Yes at 2am our clocks automatically "Sprung" forward an hour - actually watched it once. We had a clear night to do this activity - saw Casseopia but no aurora. Yesterday Al sent his son out to take photos of sunrise and today my son sent me out to do the same! Something wrong about bringing up children that one or more of us missed, I think(?) ?






+4C, calm - and yes March Break and there is a tent and at least one 2-legged being out there!


W O B

Saturday 12 March 2016

An Aside

Yesterday as I was walking, my thoughts were on the April theme, "Abandoned - things", as well as on woodpeckers, and, of course, all the ice formations  along the shores of Lake Couchiching. I thought I would have a pause, an aside for the moment before continuing:


Kind of erie, isn't it - that is the trunk along the right edge.

There seemed to be more trees tipped over this Spring than I recall in other years:





I have to wonder about this tree - some of the branches are growing back over the roots, maybe to counterbalance the trunk and crown.

And how about this glory?



There were many contrast - here is one to end this chapter:


W O B